Photo courtesy: David Friederich/B.C. Lions
The CFL rules committee has made two recommendations for 2026, the league has confirmed to 3DownNation. TSN was first to report the news.
The first recommendation is in regards to the game clock.
The league is changing to a 35-second running play clock for 2026, though the rules committee is recommending leaving the clock unchanged for the final three minutes of the first and second halves.
If approved, this would mean the league keeping a 20-second play clock that must be whistled-in by an official for the final three minutes of the second and fourth quarters.
The rules committee’s second recommendation is to eliminate ties in overtime.
Under the league’s current rules, regular-season games have a maximum of two rounds of overtime, at which point the game ends in a tie if the score remains even.
The rules committee is recommending that if the game is still tied after two rounds of overtime, the game is then decided by alternating plays from the opposition’s three-yard line until one team scores and the other does not.
Since 2016, the CFL has had four regular-season games end in a tie. Two of these games occurred in 2024.
The rules committee’s recommendations are subject to approval from the league’s board of governors.
In September, the CFL’s board of governors voted unanimously to change several rules.
In 2026, a single point will no longer be awarded when a missed field goal goes wide of the uprights or a kick sails through the back of the end zone without being touched by a returner. Team benches will also no longer be permitted to be on the same side of the field.
For 2027, the field will be shorted to 100 yards with 15-yard end zones. The uprights will also be moved to the back of the end zones.
CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston will speak to the media on Wednesday from Calgary, where the league is currently holding its offseason winter meets.